The Shadow & Shine | A Taekook Five Parts Story✓

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~ March 2024~

Jungkook struggled to keep his eyes open, his eyelids fluttering as he fought against the darkness threatening to pull him under. The ropes bit into his skin with a relentless pressure, keeping his entire body immobilized. From head to toe, he was bound so tightly that even the slightest movement was impossible. He couldn't turn his neck, couldn't shift his hands, couldn't even twitch a finger.

Pain throbbed in his head, a heavy ache that dulled his senses. His thigh burned with sharp agony as blood slowly trickled from a fresh wound. His cheeks stung from the handprints, bruises pulsing beneath the skin. His lips were split, the taste of blood lingering from the hard slaps he'd taken while fighting back with all his strength, kicking and punching as hard as he could.

But even now, battered and bound, Jungkook refused to back down. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing him broken. They wanted to see him cry, to watch him beg at their feet, to stomp on his pride until he was nothing. But that would never happen.

He was the son of a late army officer, the lover of a government agent. He wasn't taught to surrender.

His body might be restrained, his strength might be waning, but his spirit remained unbroken. Jungkook would fight until his last breath if he had to. He wouldn't let these bastards win.

Jungkook’s body was starting to give up, the hunger gnawing at him after two days without food. The last meal he had was breakfast, shared with Taehyung, the morning before he was kidnapped. He hadn’t eaten since, too caught up in his little house projects to bother with lunch, planning to wait for dinner with Taehyung.

Taehyung would be so mad if he knew. He always teased Jungkook, saying, "One day, baby, you're gonna forget all about me while you're lost in those tiny houses of yours." Jungkook would just giggle, seeing his lover pouting, sitting on the living room floor with his chin propped in his hand, waiting for Jungkook to give him some attention.

Taehyung was so cute while saying.

Jungkook never imagined life could be so full of love, that someone like Taehyung could come into his life and make everything so bright. But it happened. For two years, he was the happiest he’d ever been. Taehyung treated him like a precious gem, loved him so deeply that sometimes it scared Jungkook, making him fear that it could all disappear.

But Taehyung always reassured him, saying, “Shiny, when I think about you, I think about eternity. You and me forever, baby?” He’d ask it with the innocence of a child wishing on a star.

Shiny. That’s what Taehyung calls him as,his shine.. the light in his darkness. Taehyung would often say, "You make me human, Jungkook. You make me love the light, crave love...love only from you, baby. You make me want to grow in your shine."

Jungkook didn’t even realize when the tears started falling. He hadn’t let himself cry before now, but the pain of being without Taehyung, the fear, the exhaustion, it all crashed down on him. Nothing else hurt as much as the ache of missing Taehyung. He wanted him there, wanted Taehyung to kiss away his tears, to scare off the men who did this to him. All he wanted was Taehyung.

Jungkook knows that right now, Taehyung must be going out of his mind. He could almost picture him, frantic and desperate, doing everything he could to find him. Taehyung had always been overly cautious, always reminding Jungkook to be careful, lock the doors, never open them to strangers. When they first got together, Jungkook thought it was a bit much. But as time passed, he realized that Taehyung was just scared..scared because, for the first time in a long time, he had someone to lose..